Chilling at Home (and a bit more)

After the school year in China, and after traveling to England and Ireland, it would be nice to relax for awhile. I flew back to Ohio on the 21st of July, happy to be home and to see my family. I didn't have much time to unwind though, because on the 24th - a day after my birthday (28) - I was back in the skies. This time my parents, sister Anna, and I were all flying to Las Vegas!

Vegas isn't exactly the first place that comes to mind when I think of destinations to go with my family, although it was a fun trip nonetheless. My parents aren't teetotalers, but they aren't wild late night people either (and I'm glad about that...who wants to party on the Strip with their 60-year-old mom?). So in other words, I expected the trip to be low key. It was laid back - we spent a good chunk of time exploring the strip, playing video poker, and hanging out in our room. We stayed at the Jockey Club, next to the Cosmopolitan, in an apartment with two bedrooms, a living space, and a small kitchen.

Part of our room at the Jockey Club...hard to beat that kind of space
just off the Strip!

I had to share a room with my dad, but the king bed was plenty of space. 

We even had a walk-in closet!

View from our room by day...

...and by night it wasn't bad either!

We would have done more walking around the Strip, but the temperature reached a high of at least 110 each day we were there (and peaked at 114)! I prefer the dry heat, but even without humidity triple digits is sweltering. I went for a run one morning, to UNLV's campus, and it was so hot I was just glad I survived the run/walk back. Fortunately, whenever the heat overwhelmed us there were plenty of casinos blasting air-conditioning nearby! I'm not a huge fan of video poker, which my parents like to play, but a cool seat where servers bring you free drinks: I guess the 'rents do know a thing or two!

An added bonus with our apartment was that the Jockey Club guests got access to one of the Cosmopolitan pools. My sister and I took advantage of that bonus two mornings when we lounged pool side and got some sun. One afternoon I also played in a poker tournament at the MGM Grand. I got into online poker in high school, and although haven't played much since, I still thought it was awesome to take part in a live Vegas tournament. Granted it was only a $50 buy-in - oh and I didn't win anything - but hey, it was still memorable.

The 'Bamboo Pool' on the 14th floor of the Cosmopolitan

We checked out the fountain show at the Bellagio our first night.

Aside from the strip we also spend half a day in old Vegas. My mom, sister, and I checked out the mob museum one afternoon, which chronicles the rise of the mob in America and in Vegas. For anyone remotely interested in that sort of thing I'd recommend a visit. Afterward we met my dad on Fremont Street, which is the heart of old downtown. The casinos aren't nearly as fancy, but there were good crowds and I liked the vibe.

Scene at one of the shopping malls on the Strip. 

I liked the vibe on Fremont Street, which was less fancy but still showy.

On Friday, July 29th we flew back to Columbus; once I got home this was the real time to veg out. I managed a few things - cleaning my room, researching grad schools, reading a US history book (I am nerdy, but there was a point to that, in case I take the Foreign Service Officer Test) - but overall I was content with being lazy. Oh, and I did watch a ton of Olympics the first week. Olympic coverage and reading were my daily tasks.

I didn't watch as much the second week of the Olympics because I was in Cincinnati volunteering at the Western and Southern tennis tournament. I had a great time volunteering last year, and since August was pretty much wide open, I jumped at the chance to spend another week with my Aunt and Uncle and watch quality tennis. Unfortunately, that week was one of the rainiest of the summer. Also, two of the five days we worked were during the qualifiers, so we didn't see as many big names, but despite the rain and our schedule I got in my fair share of tennis.

Storms rolling in at the tournament on Sunday.

There was lots of rain, especially early on.

My seat for one of the best matches I saw, between Nick
Kyrgios and Borna Coric. 

We did get some great weather during the evening sessions.

I also played more tennis that week than I'd played the whole time I was in China. Hopefully I can keep it up this fall back in Hangzhou. Our last volunteer shift was on Thursday, and Saturday we drove up to Columbus. Sunday we made the trip to Toronto (not Canada...Toronto in eastern Ohio) for a family reunion, and then back to Columbus that evening.

Once the tennis was over, my schedule cleared up again. My OSU friend Mike invited me out to California for a weekend; he could use his Southwest companion pass and I'd just have to pay him $99 each way! I had hoped that my time at home would be budget friendly, but a $200 round-trip flight to see old college friends in San Diego was hard to pass up.

We flew out on Friday, August 26, and came back Monday night. Kyle, a roommate from college, let us stay at his place, which is in Pacific Beach, north of downtown San Diego. Friday night we went to a Dave Matthews Band concert with a few of his friends, including Lauren, a mutual friend from Ohio State.

At the pool with, from left, Mike, Kyle, and Lauren.

Saturday night I actually stayed with my buddy Andrew, who was living with his brother in Riverside (he's moving to an apartment near downtown L.A. this week). I rented a car from the San Diego airport and drove up to Riverside, which took less than two hours. Sunday morning I drove to Marina Del Rey to see my cousin Leslie, her husband David, and their baby daughter, Lyla. After a late lunch it was time to hit the road again, back to San Diego, where I needed to return the car by 5 pm (I handed the keys in at 4:53!).

The last week and a half I've been slowly getting ready for my return to China, shopping for new clothes and anything else I want to pack. I also met three former professors at Ohio State who will write me letters of recommendation for graduate school. On Thursday my flight leaves for China...first Columbus to Chicago, then Hong Kong, and finally Hangzhou. The morning after I arrive the new semester starts!